20180527
THE TRINITARIAN EXPERIENCE OF GOD
27 MAY, 2018, Trinity Sunday
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Deuteronomy 4:32-34,39-40 ©
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The Lord is God indeed: he and no other
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Moses said to the people: ‘Put this question to the ages that are
past, that went before you, from the time God created man on earth: Was there
ever a word so majestic, from one end of heaven to the other? Was anything ever
heard? Did ever a people hear the voice of the living God speaking from the
heart of the fire, as you heard it, and remain alive? Has any god ventured to
take to himself one nation from the midst of another by ordeals, signs,
wonders, war with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors –
all this that the Lord your God did for you before your eyes in Egypt?
‘Understand
this today, therefore, and take it to heart: the Lord is God indeed, in heaven
above as on earth beneath, he and no other. Keep his laws and commandments as I
give them to you today, so that you and your children may prosper and live long
in the land that the Lord your God gives you for ever.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 32(33):4-6,9,18-20,22 ©
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Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
For the word of the Lord is faithful
and all his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right
and fills the earth with his love.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
By his word the heavens were made,
by the breath of his mouth all the stars.
He spoke; and it came to be.
He commanded; it sprang into being.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
to keep them alive in famine.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
May your love be upon us, O Lord,
as we place all our hope in you.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
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Second reading
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Romans 8:14-17 ©
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The Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we
are children of God
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Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God. The spirit you
received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is
the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself
and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of God. And if we are
children we are heirs as well: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, sharing
his sufferings so as to share his glory.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Rv1:8
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
the God who is, who was, and who is to come.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 28:16-20 ©
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Go and make disciples of all nations
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The eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where
Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him,
though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All authority
in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of
all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And
know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’
THE TRINITARIAN EXPERIENCE OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Dt 4:32-34, 39-40; Ps 33; Rom 8:14-17; Mt 28:16-20 ]
The Christian
doctrine of the Trinity, according to some theologians, could be the reason why
Christianity has become less attractive, especially to people with a simple
mind.
It is much easier just to confess faith in the One God than to try to figure out
how God is One in being and three in persons. The doctrine is mind
boggling when we try to understand how the inner life of God works. How
could God be one being or one substance and yet there are three persons sharing
the same being in thinking, in will, in majesty, in power, omnipotence and
omniscience and yet are different? In truth, even with all the
intellectual attempts to make sense of the doctrine of the Trinity, we know
that we cannot truly explain the inner life of God because it is a mystery of
faith. Indeed, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a mystery.
The path to
understanding the Trinitarian God is not through reason. If we try to explain
why God is one being and three persons, it will create more confusion rather
than enlightenment. Speaking about the Holy Trinity via a doctrinal
exposition is not the best way to introduce someone to the Holy
Trinity. The discourse is useful for clarification and to calm the
intellect in searching for the truth, but this presupposes the person experiences
God as such. Thus the way to speak about the Holy Trinity is the way of
experience, the way of prayer and the way of encountering God concretely.
Without this prior experience of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, such
theological expositions remain abstract propositions.
The first
step in coming to know the doctrine of the Trinity presumes faith in the One
God. Our
creed begins with the opening article of faith, “I believe in one God.”
This must be the starting point, for Christianity is a monotheistic
religion. However, faith in God again cannot be simply a conceptual or
intellectual assent to a truth. Many people do not have faith in God
simply because they do not experience His presence in their lives, more so,
when society is so secularistic and God is removed from public life. When
God is not felt or heard or seen, how could there be faith in God?
Indeed, in
the first reading, Moses demanded obedience of the people to God only because
this God was encountered by them intensely. The Lord worked in their lives and
history, delivering them from their enemies, especially from slavery.
Truly, they had heard the voice of God, they had seen Him in nature, thunder,
lightning, a pillar of fire and clouds. They witnessed God’s power over
nature in the Ten Plagues and in their fight with the Egyptians and their
enemies on their march to the Promised Land.
Unless we
have experienced God concretely in our lives, it is difficult to profess
our faith in Him. Often, people give up faith in God because they feel
that God was not with them in their pains and sufferings, in their illnesses,
failures or when they lost their loved ones or their job. Only if we have
encountered God personally and concretely, can we profess with Moses, “The Lord
is God indeed, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other.” So
the question of faith in God is whether one has encountered Him radically in
their lives. If in our helpless moments and desperation, a miracle
happens, then faith becomes stronger and God becomes real in our lives.
This is why testimonies of God’s love for us in our daily life is the most
convincing way to lead people to faith in Him; not through doctrines.
Nevertheless,
Christian faith does not stop at believing that God is one. God is Father but He
also sent us His Son who revealed to us the full identity of God. Jesus
made it clear, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in
me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who
dwells in me does his works.” (Jn 14:10)
Christ revealed to us that He is one with the Father. “The Father and I
are one.” (Jn 10:30)
But how do we
know that Jesus and the Father are one? This is proven by His death and
resurrection. In His resurrection from the dead, the Father endorsed everything
that Jesus said and did. All the claims of Jesus about His identity and
the work He did for His Father make sense with His resurrection. It shows
that He is the Lord of life and Lord over death, which has no power over
Him. “The eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where
Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him,
though some hesitated.” In this statement, we see how the disciples bowed
down in worship; and if some hesitated, it was because the Risen Lord had been
so transformed from the Jesus of Nazareth that only faith could perceive His
Presence. But once perceived, the conclusion is that Jesus is the
Risen Lord and therefore in assuming the powers of God, He now has the
authority of God. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me.”
But for us
who have not seen the Risen Lord, how can we know that His Risen presence is
real? How can we encounter Him today so that we know that God is our
Father through Christ? This is where Jesus promised us the Holy
Spirit. This is what St Paul wrote, “Everyone moved by the Spirit is a
son of God. The
spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives
again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The
Spirit himself and our spirit bear united witness that we are children of
God.” The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father and the
Son. When we are baptized, the Holy Spirit is given to us so that in the
Holy Spirit we come to encounter the Risen presence of the Lord. This
happens in our hearts at prayer, especially during worship, when the Word of
God is read, preached and shared.
Beyond
experiencing the Fatherliness of God in prayer, we also experience His strength
and power working in us in our triumph and fortitude in the face of sufferings. St Paul wrote, “And
if we are children we are heirs as well: heirs of God and coheirs with Christ,
sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory.” In our union with
Christ’s suffering even unto death, we also share His resurrection and new
life. Finally, in our fellowship with the Body of Christ, in our service
to the poor and the abandoned, we encounter the Lord Jesus present in them.
Jesus is felt, heard, touched and seen in our brothers and sisters, especially
when we belong to a Catholic community.
Only then,
can we speak about the work of evangelization and the obligation of mission. Without this interior
and personal experience of God as the Holy Trinity, we cannot be His
witnesses. Only after the disciples had seen Him, did Jesus tell them,
“Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations.” Unless we know
from our heart that God is real and He is experienced as Father, Son and
Spirit, we cannot share the Good News. Indeed, the Lord commanded us to
“baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit.” Baptism is not in the names but name, singular, because there is
one God.
Christian joy
is to know the Father more and more through understanding the Son and
acceptance of His teachings so that the Holy Spirit can live in our hearts. Indeed, we are “to
teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you
always; yes, to the end of time.” Dying in Christ in baptism, rising to a new
life in the Spirit, sharing our communion with the rest of the family of God,
together, we help each other and support each other to become more and more
like Jesus and living together as God’s family. In conclusion, not only
is our experience of God triune, but our life as Christians must be lived in
imitation of the Trinitarian communion. We who are individuals, too, must
learn to live in unity. We need to become more and more united in love
and service, sharing our uniqueness and talents together for the service of God
and humanity, so as to build a community of love.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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